Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Have you done a lot of baking and need to share
the goodies with some with your friends and neighbors before you eat
them all yourself? Why not deliver them in a special container to hold
all of the delectable creations? I found this snowman shaped box at my
local grocery store (on sale since it was so close to Christmas). It
was already somewhat decorated, but I decided to make it even more
adorable by recovering it with one of my favorite holiday collections
from Simple Stories called Handmade Holidays (how fitting).

I chose two pieces of patterned paper to line the outside of the
box. Then I measured and cut the strips of paper, matching up patterns
where I could since it took more than one strip to go around the box.
Then I used a tape runner and glue gun to adhere the paper to the box.
I would recommend using something like Modge Podge to seal the paper to
the box in order to make it more durable and ready for a second use.

To recreate the design, I used a plain piece of copy paper to trace
some of the elements on the box and then cut them out as a pattern.
Then I used the pattern to trace on the papers I selected to fit my own
style. Pop dots on the buttons and part of the scarf make the design
more fun and dimensional.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Looking for some adorable children's scrapbook collections at an unbeatable price? You need to check out the Carta Bella Alphabet Junction collection at ScrapbookSteals.com today! It has the most wonderful textured cardstock and patterns that are perfect for the little guys and girls in your life. I made this fun, bright page about my little guy.

There are super cute sentiments and fun patterns to document your memories like this preschool photo of my son. I really liked how there were plenty of places to hand write my journaling and how the texture of both the paper and the chipboard helped me avoid smudging. The miniature stitching on this sticker is a wonderful detail.

I especially love how coordinated the cardstock stickers, chipboard pieces and patterned paper are in this collection and how they work together in clusters. I used the alphabet stickers to make the title and then continued the sentiment with the cardstock sticker phrases.

It's fun to use banners as a design element and make each of the embellishments part of the effect. I cut banners out of some of the cardstock paper and then I snipped the ends of the cardstock sticker phrases to complete the banner look.

I thought it would be fun to use the Alphabet Junction patterned paper and stickers to create a more mature card. This Delightful Stripe patterned paper used on the flip side with the XO pattern made a great focal point for the design of this romantic card.

The cardstock stickers are from the Carta Bella collection, but the clear stickers are from Little Yellow Bicycle. I used two of my Martha Stewart punches to make the border and leaves.

This card took very little time and is focused around one of the alpha cards. I added the chipboard title and the cardstock banner sticker to pull it together for a fun everyday card.

Love how the chipboard pops off the card and the light pink is such a fun color and contrast to the darker pinks in the papers.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Are you frantically making cards in every spare moment? It's time to get those season's greetings into the mail... Why not make things easier on yourself with a simple design and some fun materials from Simple Stories and Core'dinations - especially at this time of year when cardstock is a staple for making cards. I particularly love the red Tim Holz Kraft-Core because it distresses beautifully and provides a kraft colored inside for easy handwriting. It also compliments the Simple StoriesHandmade Holiday collection perfectly.
I used one of my old McGill flower punches and some of the Core'dinations cardstock to make this flower. Then I shadowed it with another flower of the same size using some of the Handmade Holiday 6 x 6 patterned paper. Next, I added a Handmade Holiday cardstock sticker ornament for the center. The Christmas banner sentiment was cut from another piece 6 x 6 patterned paper.
I simply cut a 4.5 x 12 inch strip of Karft-Core cardstock, scored and folded it, and then added the embellishments. The patterned paper is from the Handmade Holiday 6 x 6 patterned paper pad and the tiny Merry Christmas sentiment is from the 12 x 12 fundamental cardstock stickers.
I just love the Handmade Holiday advent calendar numbers and wanted to make "25" the focal point of this card. A little bit of twine tied around the pop-dotted numbers completes the "handmade" look.
The popcorn garland is too cute for words, so I added just a bit to provide a little more interest to this simple card. Hope you have all of your cards ready to mail soon. Only 19 more days left until Christmas...

Monday, December 3, 2012

Time to start wrapping those gifts! Why not keep it "simple" and create gift wrapped items that can be used again? I used the Simple StoriesHandmade Holiday Collection to cover these boxes and bag in a way that they can be easily opened with out ripping the paper. Then I used the Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio and Charms to make permanent gift tags that can be used for many future holidays.
For
the larger box (found at target), I covered the bottom of the box with
the Handmade Holiday mistletoe patterned paper #2709 and left the lid
alone since it was already a beautiful red color. For the permanent
gift tag, I chose a 4 x 6 journal card from the Handmade Holiday Collection
with a plain background and used my typewriter to add the gift
recipient's name, but one could easily hand write a name as well - just
make sure it will fit in a 1" cirlce. Then I used the Epiphany Crafts Round 25 Shape Studio and Bubble Caps to punch out the name. Finally I added the Bubble Cap to the Round 25 Charm Setting. Voila - a simple reusable gift tag charm that dresses up any gift wrapping.
For
the smaller box, which has a lid that folds up, I wrapped a strip of
the Handcrafted patterned paper #2707 around the edge of the box and
then cut a 3 x 3 inch square to adhere to the fold up top. I used my
scissors to curl small strips of a contrasting patterned paper and then
used some foam tape to add the fun snowman sticker. Finally I tied on
the reusable gift tag charm.
For
the kraft colored gift bag, I kept it simple and used some patterned
paper and the scalloped cardstock sticker trim from the 12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers. The beautiful tag is actually a cardstock from the collection. Then, of course, I tied on one of the Epiphany Crafts gift tag charms.

Good luck with getting all of your holiday shopping and wrapping done in time for your own Handmade Holiday, and we hope that Simple Stories makes it a little easier...